[Jeffhs]

It certainly looks as if that set was in a barn for heaven knows how long! From the dust on the record changer, I'd guess it sat there unused for decades, and probably has the usual issues: bad capacitors, out-of-tolerance resistors and so forth. You will have quite a job on your hands getting this unit going, but it will be worth it as those older Philcos were very well made indeed.

I'd replace the record changer with a more modern one, unless you want to keep this console as close to original as possible. You may have problems finding parts for a changer that old and of that design, though, as this looks like it is actually two separate changers on the same motor board, one for LPs and one for 78s. Another manufacturer (I don't recall whom at the moment, although RCA comes to mind) had a similarly designed record changer in the late '40s-'50s which was used in some of its combination units of the period. It was known as the Twin-Seven. It could play, IIRC, 78s and 45s, again using two separate changers. The 45 changer was also available at the time as a standalone unit, model 45-EY-3, for use with a TV receiver that had a phono input. My folks' first TV was a 1954 RCA 21" console with such an arrangement; they had the matching changer as well. I had a similar changer myself in the late '60s, but mine had an amplifier built into the cabinet.

I agree with you in regard to the CRT in your set. If the chassis cables were soldered onto the CRT pins (!), you may have a problem unsoldering them without cracking the glass. I once had a Philco "Microgrid 390" 21" console TV on which the socket came loose from the CRT neck. I eventually got the set going again by soldering the chassis leads to the wires extending from the base of the tube, but the fix only lasted a couple of weeks, if that long. A lead broke off eventually and shorted against several others; needless to say, the tube was ruined after that, and who knows what other damage occurred to the TV as a result.

If worse comes to worst and you can't get the TV going, I'd try to get the radio and record changer working. If nothing else, this console could make a good vintage entertainment unit, as the sound from these older sets is very good, owing to their powerful, well-built audio stages and large speakers. I have a Zenith radio (C845) with an 8" speaker that runs rings around today's cheap transistor portables, in both sound quality and RF sensitivity. Many older radios of other makes were built as mine was, as well. The radio and phono in your RCA console are built for hi-fi sound, as were most early RCA radios, TVs and phonographs. RF sensitivity may be an issue, the radio requiring at very least a pair of TV rabbit ears as an antenna, but if you are in a good signal area, your FM reception on this console should be fairly good. I wouldn't put too much time or effort into restoring the AM tuner, however, as AM radio in most cities has next to nothing worth listening to.